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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. chest — a box
  3. staff — a stick
  4. chest — of your body
  5. spell — a short time
  6. staff — employees
  7. staff — employees
  8. scale — in music
  9. kid — child
  10. kid — to tease
  11. scale — size or range
  12. fork — in a road
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. spell — magic
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. clip — a video
  19. spell — letters
  20. clip — for paper
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. clip — to cut
  23. chest — of your body
  24. patient — a sick person

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com